I will try again tomorrow

By Jacob Mansch

On September 29, 2015, I became a Kansas traffic statistic. I was a passenger in a vehicle and became a victim of distracted driving. The driver was using his cell phone.

Jacob Mansch

After we hit a concrete bridge on a rural county road in Sumner County, I have little recollection of the events of that afternoon – indeed I have a sketchy memory of the next several months.

Thankfully the skills and knowledge of the first responders, the ambulance EMTs and the awesome doctors and nurses who cared for me, I survived to tell my story. I know my journey is not yet over but I have been blessed with incredible faith and a truly loving, supportive family, without whom I could not have survived. Through the continued prayers of my family and my huge community of friends, my successes have been celebrated and my journey continues.

From a young age my parents taught me perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. I was born with Spina Bifida, but with hard work and courage, I graduated high school with my class. I had a full life of friends, activities and events. I had a job I truly loved and lived independently in my own home with my awesome service dog – a German Shepherd whose name was (appropriately) Angel. That all changed the day I became a statistic. I was told that in the time following the wreck, Angel stayed by my side and helped me stay conscious despite my extremely severe injuries. Angel stayed with me over the next five months in the hospital.  I lost her July 15, 2016.

Angel

After being intubated for an extended period of time, I had to work hard to breathe on my own, then relearn how to swallow, to talk and to eat. My right leg was amputated at the pelvic bone. I had to learn to balance so I could sit, then to use my wheelchair again. Through determination and perseverance, I was able to do all these things.

Because of continued severe trauma and infections, I contracted myopathy and neuropathy of my upper extremities. My hands and arms began to curl up into my torso.  I began to do the “T- Rex” - what my family called this condition. With their continued faith, their constant sense of hope, and our gift of humor, this became just another step on my journey. My brother and my sister-in-law stopped by the hospital each night with words of encouragement and praises for each day’s “win.” They are one of the reasons I never lost hope. Each day they eased the long day of recovery and dreaded rehabilitation. My doctors and nurses knew them by name. Roy and I watched Cubs baseball and Husker football (none of which I remember), and Jayhawk basketball (some fleeting memories). Our Bears football was a lost season that year.

Just this month I have returned to the job I love so much. My Dad keeps his watch over me from heaven, and my Angel is now watching from doggie heaven. I have a lot of work to do to become fully independent. I still need help dressing and transferring from bed to wheelchair. I need help when my hands don’t cooperate. My school district has been awesome in working with me when I get too tired and worn out to work. The dreams still haunt me and I need someone to stay with me at night. Mom told me one day, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow.”

And so I will persevere, thankful for each day - whatever it brings - and I will try again tomorrow.

Jacob Mansch is a para at Belle Plaine High School.